No crowd control concerns at Venice Italian fest

Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 6:07 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at 6:07 p.m.

VENICE - An aggravating traffic jam associated with events last month at the municipal airport's festival grounds is not expected to happen again when the Venice Italian Feast & Carnival is at the same location this weekend.

On Jan. 27, two events occurred at the festival grounds: the Wings of Freedom exhibit of World War II military aircraft and the 44th Annual Devereaux-Kaiser Collector Car Meet.

The recurring car show may be the most popular event held on the festival grounds.

Having two events on the same day at the same location sharing the same entrance-exit, combined with an unusually long opening of the nearby drawbridge on the Intracoastal Waterway, caused "an anomaly" that is unlikely to be repeated, city spokeswoman Pam Johnson said.

Traffic jammed on the only road into and out of the festival grounds and on nearby streets, Johnson said.

Some drivers claimed it took hours to get out of the area.

The congestion did not occur when Wings of Freedom was at the same location by itself on the previous two days.

The Italian festival, though likely to draw a large crowd, will be spread over four days and will not be sharing the grounds with another event.

The municipal airport is conducting an open house from 10 to 4 p.m. Saturday but that event is at the airport farther west on Airport Avenue.

Bruce Bastian, president of the Italian-American Club of Venice, said the car and aircraft shows reportedly attracted about 20,000, about the same number of attendees that the club expects for its festivities over four days.

"We take care of crowd control," Bastian said. "We've never had a problem in any way."

<p><em>VENICE</em> - An aggravating traffic jam associated with events last month at the municipal airport's festival grounds is not expected to happen again when the Venice Italian Feast & Carnival is at the same location this weekend.</p><p>On Jan. 27, two events occurred at the festival grounds: the Wings of Freedom exhibit of World War II military aircraft and the 44th Annual Devereaux-Kaiser Collector Car Meet.</p><p>The recurring car show may be the most popular event held on the festival grounds.</p><p>Having two events on the same day at the same location sharing the same entrance-exit, combined with an unusually long opening of the nearby drawbridge on the Intracoastal Waterway, caused "an anomaly" that is unlikely to be repeated, city spokeswoman Pam Johnson said.</p><p>Traffic jammed on the only road into and out of the festival grounds and on nearby streets, Johnson said.</p><p>Some drivers claimed it took hours to get out of the area.</p><p>The congestion did not occur when Wings of Freedom was at the same location by itself on the previous two days.</p><p>The Italian festival, though likely to draw a large crowd, will be spread over four days and will not be sharing the grounds with another event.</p><p>The municipal airport is conducting an open house from 10 to 4 p.m. Saturday but that event is at the airport farther west on Airport Avenue.</p><p>Bruce Bastian, president of the Italian-American Club of Venice, said the car and aircraft shows reportedly attracted about 20,000, about the same number of attendees that the club expects for its festivities over four days.</p><p>"We take care of crowd control," Bastian said. "We've never had a problem in any way."</p>